Nikon Coolpix S500
Digital Camera Review
Jul 16, 2007
- By Emily Raymond
1.9
Entering a tough niche in the market is the Nikon Coolpix S500, which boasts 7.1 megapixels and a 3x optical zoom lens. Almost every camera manufacturer has a camera with a similar flat metal body and extending 3x optical zoom lens. The S500 has a high-resolution 2.5-inch LCD screen and optical image stabilization. It also has a revamped menu interface with flashier icons and large fonts. It was announced in February 2007 alongside the Nikon S200. Can the S500 stand out? Read on to find out.
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Picture Quality / Size Options (7.0)
With 7.1 megapixels on its 1/2.5-inch CCD, the Nikon Coolpix S500 has plenty of resolution to safely print 8 x 10-inch pictures and perhaps even a bit larger. The camera offers the following image sizes in its shooting menu: 3072 x 2304, 2592 x 1944, 2048 x 1536, 1024 x 768, 640 x 480, and 3072 x 1728 (16:9). The latter option shoots widescreen images, a popular choice for users who like to display their slide shows on the big screen. In the playback mode, images can be duplicated and downsized to 640 x 480, 320 x 240, and 160 x 120 pixels. This makes it easier to transfer images straight to a blog or email.

Picture Effects Mode (6.25)
There are five color modes in the shooting mode menu: Standard, Vivid, Black-and-white, Sepia, and Cyanotype. Each comes with a live view in the background of the menu. These options aren’t anything special or elaborate, and are on the skimpy end of picture effects offered on recent digital cameras, but are better than nothing.